Australia Calls for Greater U.S. Role in Asia Pacific

MELBOURNE, Australia—Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called on the U.S. to exercise more influence in Asia to help counter rising instability in the South China Sea, saying that talk of China eclipsing U.S. power in the region was overdone.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of a conference focused on China's growing economic and strategic clout, Ms. Bishop said escalating tension between Beijing and its...